Psalm 146:1 Halleluyah!
Praise Adonai, my soul!
2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life.
3 Don’t put your trust in princes
or in mortals, who cannot help.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.
5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah! (Complete Jewish Bible).
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We often think of "Love thy neighbor" and "Love one another" as uniquely New Testament themes. However, the God of the New Testament is also the God of the Old Testament. As a beloved seminary professor taught me, "God can't help but love God's people." The psalms of praise, like Psalm 146, remind us of this. We see how God not only provides abundantly, as was the case with yesterday's story, but how everything about God is abundant! The hope God provides, the freedom God provides and, of course, the love God provides stretch far beyond anything our imaginations could ever grasp. The psalmist compares the limitless power of God with the limitations of human rulers. The juxtaposition is all the more astounding when you consider that God uses that power to love God's people.
Good and gracious God, we become frustrated by human limitations, and we call on you to remind us what you are capable of. Inspire us to love like you love, and to offer hope to all we meet. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Emily Martin, '17
Associate Pastor, Cambridge Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Minn.
Psalm 146:1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord! (New Revised Standard Version).
The Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
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